The Road to Boston Passes Through Hartford

Hartford, CT, that is. In order to run the prestigious Boston Marathon, I must first qualify, and I plan on doing that at the Hartford Marathon on Saturday, October 11, 2008. I need to run the race in 3:40:59 or faster.

Why do I think I can qualify?
This will be my 8th marathon, but my first attempt to qualify for Boston. I'll need to shave 11 minutes off of the time I ran last March-- the 3:51:49. Looking back on my training log leading up to this race, there was only six weeks of consistent training. I was injured for the second half of December and the first part of January. I only trained from late January to early March, and then I tapered. If I extend that out to an 18-week training program, I think I will see a faster result. Additionally, my weekly mileage (a large factor in marathon performance) was about 40-45 when training for Shamrock. The program I plan to undertake has me running an average of 45-55 miles per week.

Why Hartford of all places?
At first, I thought I would use the Steamtown marathon to qualify. It has a net decrease in elevation, and most of the race is downhill. But then I thought twice about that. I would have to do a lot of downhill training, and there isn't really proper terrain for that around here. Additionally, all of my marathons have been flat or slightly hilly. I know what I am getting into with a flat course, so I figured I should veer away from Steamtown and find something flat.

My next thought was going to Chicago. About as flat as they come! I earned myself a position in one of the faster starting corrals, so I wouldn't have to worry about weaving through people in the first few miles. Plus, I was supposed to run that last year but I ended up dropping out due to injury. But then I realized that Chicago would be somewhat of a "production" with the travel, getting to the start line, etc. And I wanted something a bit lower key.

So, I did my research and I discovered Hartford. It's a quick flight (which I assumed would be inexpensive, but it's not) and I was able to get a hotel right next to the start/finish area. It's a small enough for there not to be crowding on the course, but large enough to have crowd support (about 1500 runners). It's flat, and has a great reputation. I convinced my friend Jenna to run this one with me, and we are hoping that our friend Randi will join us as well. Also, the race is on a Saturday, which I prefer to a Sunday race. Hartford in October should be ideal race weather (upper 40's - lower 50's in the morning), but I guess you can never be sure!

What are the possible roadblocks?
Injury. My knee is about 99% recovered (I ran 8 pain-free miles yesterday). In order to stay injury free, I plan on monitoring my resting heart rate in the morning when I wake up. I will continue with my core strengthening routine, as well as lower-body strengthening. Most importantly, I will listen to my body for signals that I am doing too much. If I don't get injured, I am fairly confident I will qualify.

What about a training philosophy?
I'm approaching this marathon very differently from those in the past. In the past, I was very goal-focused, and now I plan to focus more heavily on the training, itself, as its own reward. I am only doing two races between now and the marathon (one of them is next weekend) so I won't have that kind of "high". Instead, I am highly enthusiastic about my training, acknowledging the benefits of training-- not just the "reward" of getting a good time. I'll probably blog more about my training than I have in the past-- simply because training will take the place of all the races I used to run. And I need support from you all! Anything can happen on race day, so if I focus all my energy on that particular day, I could be really let down (bad weather, illness, injury, etc.) So I need to stay focused on the benefits I am getting from simply training.

Track my Training!
If you go to the right hand colum on the page, there is a link to view my training log. You can click on that and get an up-to-date view of what I've been doing. Right now, all you will see is someone who's been gradually ramping up miles with short/easy runs, accompanied by a great deal of cross training. A month from now, this will be a bit more exciting!

The program starts tomorrow. I'm standing at the unofficial start line of my BQ journey. Wish me luck.

Come What May

May has been quite a unique month for me. There was no single big "event" but rather a lot of changes and adjustments.

Injury Recovery
Instead of my traditional "running" training, I have been training for overall fitness this month. My main focus has been injury recovery and prevention. Injury recovery (from patellar tendonitis) has involved cutting way back on my mileage and slowing down the speed of my runs. Additionally, I have been icing my knee several times a day and going to physical therapy weekly. As for prevention, I have been stretching every day, and doing a lot of strengthening exercise. It's possible that weak quad muscles caused my injury, so I have been doing a lot of exercises for my quads.  My recovery is coming along well. I would say that my knee is about 90% healed, with some days being better than others.

Strength Training
To prevent other kinds of injuries, I have also been doing a lot of lower body strengthing, with a major focus on the abs, lower back, glutes, inner/outter thighs, calves, and hamstrings. After a month of hard work, I think I have established the strength needed to begin marathon training in June. My hope is that my strength training will also result in the ability to run faster. It will be a challenge to maintain this strength as a pack on the miles, mainly because I only have a limited number of hours in the day to dedicate towards working out-- but I need to make it a priority.

Cardio/Endurance Training
On top of all of this, I have been swimming and biking (stationery bike). Due to "plica" I discovered during last summer's bike ride in Italy, I know that my maximum bike ride is about 20 minutes. Otherwise, the inside of my knee hurts. I have mainly been using biking to warm up prior to my stretching and strengthening. The bulk of my cardio has come from swimming. It was amazing to see myself improve so quickly with the swimming! Back in April, I could only swim for about 15-20 minutes before I needed to stop and take a break. And now I can go for nearly 45 minutes non-stop. I've also increased swimming speed. My waterproof iPod case and headphones have really helped make swimming more enjoyable, as well. Here are the monthly totals:

Miles Swum: 14.7
Miles Biked: 33
Miles Run: 39.2
Strength training sessions: 17

It's been disheartening to watch my mileage go from 91 in March, down to 66 in April, and now 39 in May. My monthly totals for last year were all well above 100! (I typically average around 150).  Anyway, I do feel really good about what I have accomplished this month in terms of balancing my workouts. I really, really hope my knee is ready for the rigorous training program I have planned for it. I guess that all serious runners need some down time and these past three months have been mine. True-- I did run two marathons. But only one of them was at full effort, and my monthly mileage has been an all-time low. 

June, here I come!

Pesky Little 5K

Every time I run a 5K, about halfway through, I ask myself why I registered for this race? What am I doing here? Why do I subject myself to such torture? My lungs ache almost the entire way as I struggle for oxygen. At the end I am always gasping for breath, and I have to wait a few minutes to even be able to remove my chip from my shoe.

But then I ask myself when the next one is. 

The 5K is a very frustrating distance for me. My key strength or "sweet spot" in marathoning is the pacing strategy. I always run even splits, with each mile being run at about the same pace. I've also run negative splits, both in full and half marathons. When it comes to the 5K, though, I cannot pace myself. In my marathoner's mind, I think "Only 3.1 miles- I should be able to run this way faster than marathon pace!" So I go out at a pace that feels fast, which I can only maintain for about 1.5 miles, before slowing down.

This morning I ran the GW Parkway Classic 5K. I was not expecting a PR because I am still recovering from the two marathon I ran, just four weeks apart. I've also spent the past six weeks with knee issues, so my training has been at an all-time low. What I was expecting was a sub-24:00 race, and a possible age group award, based on last year's results.

This was a point-to-point race. They bus you to the start and then you run back to where you parked your car. The race has a 10-mile event, which I ran back in 2006. The 5K is the last 5K of the 10 miles. I knew what to expect, but I had forgotten about the major hill in the third mile. Additionally, we were running into a headwind the entire time. It wasn't a significant amount of wind, but any little bit can have an impact in such a short race.

I warmed up for about half a mile at an easy pace, also including some quick sprints to tune up my legs. I lined up near the front of pack and started chatting with the runners. The race started and I began to run at what seemed to be a "comfortably hard" pace. I would have estimated my pace at about 7:45. However, when I passed the first mile, the clock read 7:20, and I was worried that I made my classic pacing mistake: going out too fast.

During mile two, I paid for mile one. I clocked an 8:04, which really, really should not happen for me during a 5K! I have run faster miles in half-marathons! I tried to pick it up for the last mile. I was pushing really hard, but I felt so extremely tired. I wanted to stop and walk so badly! I ran up the steep hill at a snail's pace, and then down again at a much faster pace. Aboout 200 meters from the finish line, two girls who seemed to be in my age group came from behind me and attempted to pass me. Oh no! I wouldn't let them. I started to sprint, giving myself a nice lead over them. With about 100 meters to go, I eased up on my sprint, and they caught up again. We were neck and neck until almos the finish, but ultimately, they finished first.

I looked at the clock, which read 24:00, and my chip time ended up being 23:58. 28 seconds slower than my PR, but not my slowest 5K ever. I wasn't particularly pleased with my time, but I wasn't devastated either. I was mainly mad at myself for my poor pacing, and was wondering how much time I could have shaved off if I ran that first mile just 10 seconds slower.



What frustrates me even more is that I have not made much progress in this distance in the past year an a half. In November 2006, I ran a 23:32. My PR is only two seconds faster, set in June 2007. Considering that I have brought my marathon time down from 4:24 in the Fall of 2006, to 3:51, you would think that my 5K time would come down with it. But nope, it hasn't budged!!!! I know that I am not in as good of shape right now as I was when I ran that Shamrock marathon, but still!

Nevertheless, I was satisfied with my placing. And just one place short of winning 3rd in my age group (the first and second place overall winners were in my age group, removing them from the "age group" competition).

Time: 23:58
Pace: 7:43

6 out of 177 women aged 20-29
65 out of 876 total finishers (male & female)

My knee didn't hurt during the race, but it hurt afterwards. I am going to take the next few days off, and log maybe a total of 15 miles this week. My goal is to let my knee heal so that I can begin training for my next marathon in early June. (BTW, this is a different knee issue than the one I was experiencing pre-London. That was a shoe issue. This new issue is patellar tendonitis.)

The London Marathon

It's 6:20am. I wake up without an alarm. Even though my body clock is likely still set to 1:20am, this feels normal. I take my time getting ready for the marathon. I affix two analgesic patches to the outside and top of my knee, covering them in an Ace knee sleeve. I have no idea what to expect from today's race. How far will I run before knee pain kicks in? Will I be okay with not getting a medal or shirt?

The one item I don't have with me is my iPod. This will be my first marathon without music. I want to savor the experience in full. I want to hear the crowds cheering, and I want to be able to talk to people. I also want to prove to myself that I can run a marathon without music, and that I don't use it as a crutch. Rather, it simply makes the experience more enjoyable for me. Except for when it's the London marathon. If I ever run Chicago or NYC, I won't listen to music. Ironically, the London marathon is very accepting of headphones, and they have no rules in place that don't allow them.

The sun is shining and it actually feels hot out. I walk down to the hotel lobby and board the bus that is taking us to the start line. The bus is full of Americans who used Marathon Tours to book the trip and receive a guaranteed entry. The ride takes an hour. I don't talk much to the other runners. Most of them have someone else with them, but I am alone. I stay calm, and just try to remember that this race is for fun. Having fun is most important.

I arrive at the start area. The race is so large that there are actually three different starting areas that meet up at mile three on the course. I try to catch a glimpse of Rosa with the elite women, but we aren't allowed to get that close to the start line. I check my bag and think to myself "now I really have to get to the end somehow-- I need my bag back."


I talk to a few random people. Whenever I say I am from the U.S., the first question they ask me is if I have run the New York City marathon. They all assume that American marathon runners have run that one. I make my way to the starting corrals, or "pens" as they call them in the U.K. I am in pen 5, based upon the projected finish time I provided in October. We wait in the pen for about 20 minutes. I talk to a woman from Scotland who is hoping to beat her 3:48 PR from the Edinburgh Marathon. I tell her that my goal is simply to finish.

The London Marathon Course

Miles 1-4
The gun goes off and it takes about three minutues for me to cross the start line. After crossing, I continue on at a snail's pace, as this race is very crowded. The first mile is painfully slow. There are times when the running stops, and I actually have to stand still. I can't even walk. These bottlenecks continue on and off, all the way up to mile 8 of the race. I am happy that I am not trying to "race" this one. This part of the course is boring. There is no crowd support, and it's basically residential areas. I remember from the course map that it's a point-to-point race. So we start in the suburbs, and we don't enter central London until nearly halfway.
Mile 1: 10:27
Mile 2: 9:19
Mile 3: 8:59
Mile 4: 9:02

Miles 5-9
The crowd support starts to show up at about mile 5, although the course is still boring at this point. Knee pain has not yet kicked in and everything is feeling good. I tell myself that I hope I can hold out until the course gets scenic. That's why I travelled all this way-- to see scenic London while running a marathon! Also, I don't think there are many tube stations at this point, so I hope to get to an area where there are more stations.

This marathon has many, many costumed runners and stunt runners. For example, one runner is trying to set the world record for longest scarf knitted while running a marathon. I see a man running the marathon in nothing except for a thong and running shoes. On his back is written: "Does my bum look good in this?" I see a group of six runners chained together. I see someone running as a banana, someone as a butterfly, and someone as Minnie Mouse. I see Brett Favre running with a football.
Instead of cups of water, they give mini water bottles at each station. This is nice because you can carry the bottle with you and you can drink it quickly without the water going all over your face. However, I know that drinking the entire mini bottle would cause cramping, so I drink no more than half the bottle at each station. I'm actually really hot during these miles, and glad I am in a tank top as opposed to long sleeves.

Mile 5: 9:10
Mile 6: 9:51
Mile 7: 9:36
Mile 8: 8:52 (fastest mile of the race- my PR pace!)
Mile 9: 9:20

Miles 10-13
I can't believe I have made it this far without my knee hurting. Everything feels good, actually. The pace is easy and I am enjoying the run. I can't go any faster than I am going because it's still too crowded. I don't want to waste energy weaving through people, so I just stick with the pace that the crowd is going. I do feel a bit sluggish, and I attribute that to jet lag. Also, it had been about two weeks since I ran anything that was 5 miles or more.

It suddenly starts pouring down rain. Out of nowhere! It had been in the forecast, but I wasn't sure when it would start. I am drenched. It pours really, really hard, and I the water tastes salty as it washes away the sweat from my face. A little rain is fun, but this amount of rain is tough. I feel badly for the spectators who are getting soaked and aren't in dry-wicking clothing like the runners.

Running across the Tower Bridge just before the halfway point is an amazing experience. The bridge is quite grand and there are tons of people cheering wildly. I feel like a rock star. Just before crossing, I hear someone call out "Elizabeth!" I look, and I see that Zoe is cheering for me! How wonderful to see a friendly face. Even though I don't live in the UK, I still have my support person cheering for me. Zoe had run the marathon last year, but did not get into the lottery this year.

Mile 10: 9:00
Mile 11: 9:18
Mile 12: 9:08
Mile 13: 9:19

Miles 14-17I cross the halfway point at 2:02 and I think of my mother tracking me online. She must be relieved to know that I at least got halfway. The rain stops and the sun comes out again. I am thoroughly drenched. Surprisingly, my knee still feels ok! I am having some minor aches in my quads, but nothing out of the ordinary. Now that I am in central London, I know that there are tube stations all around and I can drop out at any time if need be. But I then tell myself that if I made it halfway, I should be able to make it to the finish.

During this part of the course, I the elite women running at miles 21-22. I look for Rosa. I later learn that if I had been just a few minutes faster, I would have seen her. But Rosa had passed the mile 22 marker before I reached that area. As I run, I am fixated on the elite women, and some of the elite men. They are going extremely fast, and it's very motivating. Their side of the course is empty, while my side is still too full to choose my own pace. At this point, the pace is still being dictated by the crowd.
Mile 14: 9:16
Mile 15: 9:33
Mile 16: 10:00
Mile 17: 9:39

Miles 18-22
These miles are the hardest for me. I hit a bit of a wall at mile 19, and I just don't feel like running anymore. I slow down and I feel a lack of energy. My carb-load hadn't been very significant because I honestly didn't think I would be finishing the race. My lack of training for the past 4 weeks is beginning to show itself.

At this point, I know I am going to finish, but I picture myself walking the last six miles. I think of how much walking I can do to still get my time under 5:00. I tell myself that walking is acceptable, because I don't want to push myself too hard and risk further injury. But I don't actually walk until I hit mile marker 20. I walk for about a minute, maybe even less. It's almost impossible to walk because everyone is cheering "you can do it!" and I feel like a wuss if I walk. I decide to do the "survival shuffle" which is a very slow run. I think that a 4:13:08 is still possible, but I am perfectly happy to accept anything under five hours.
We run through a tunnel for about 1/4 a mile. I have never run a race through a tunnel before, and it was interesting.

Mile 18: 9:19
Mile 19: 9:47
Mile 20: 9:50
Mile 21: 10:27
Mile 22: 10:49 (slowest mile of the race)

Miles 23-Finish
I become energized once again as I approach the 35K mat. They are tracking 5K splits, and I know that my 30K-35K split was by far the slowest. The sports beans I took just before mile 22 are beginning to kick in, and I tell myself if I run a 10:00 pace for the last three miles, I make my goal of 4:13:08. But I can't walk, and I can't go slower than a 10:00 pace. It's just three more miles, and that should be very easy. Easy. Easy. Easy. I repeat it over and over again.

I see Zoe at mile 23 and she again calls out my name. I get excited to see her. At this point, the crowd support has gotten even more massive and the course has finally thinned out. About half a million people have come out to watch this race, according to a radio report I had heard on the bus that morning. I look to my left and I see the London Eye.

I seem to be on track for a perfect 4:13:08. I pass the mile 25 marker and it begins to pour down rain again. Couldn't it have waited a few minutes until after I finished!? The rain only motivates me to go faster as I pass Buckingham Palace. There is no mile marker for 26, but there are signs that say "800 meters to go" and then "400 meters to go", and I can't think in terms of meters at this point.

I turn a corner and the finish line pops up right in front of me. Much sooner than expected! Usually I can't wait to approach the finish line, but this time, I am a bit disappointed that I had reached it faster than predicted. I am on track for a 4:10, and I figure I can just wait to cross. I start to walk slowly, but then a woman passes me and says "come on, you're almost there!" But I am intentionally walking to get my perfect 4:13! Then I see the race photographers, and I don't want a photo of me walking, so I start to jog. My watch time is approaching 4:12, so I have to decide if I want my 4:11, or if I am really going to wait for 4:13. This all happens in slow motion.

The rain is coming down in buckets and I want to be done with the race, so I make a strong finish, crossing in 4:11:57.


Mile 23: 9:35
Mile 24: 9:41
Mile 25: 10:20
Mile 26 + 0.2: 12:11

After The RaceI am supposed to meet Zoe and Rosa in the Overseas Runner area, but the rain is coming down so heavily, that all I want to do is collect my medal, finisher's bag and go back to my hotel. I don't see them anywhere, so I head for the tube.

Usually, when I finish a marathon, I am extremely sore and still immediately afterwards. It was not the case with this marathon. It felt more like a training run than anything. When I train to qualify for Boston, my long runs will be done at a pace of about 9:30-9:35, so this was like a long run.

I simply cannot believe how well my knee held up. And that I managed to pull off a 4:11:57 with such little training. It was really a miracle. I had my finisher's medal, my finisher's shirt, and I can now say that I completed a marathon without listening to music. What a fantastic and memorable experience!

Results & Statistics

• 14,559 of 34,212 total finishers
• 2,689 of 10,638 female finishers
• Average finishing time: 4:26:09
• My finishing time: 4:11:57
• Rosa's finishing time: 3:10:44
• 7 marathons completed-- 3 have been faster, 3 have been slower

4.13.08

As many of you know, I am running (or plan to run) the London marathon on Sunday. Yes, that’s London, UK. I bought a package through a travel agency last October, so I have been planning this for quite some time. I have always wanted to do an International marathon, and since I have friends who live in London, who are runners, I figured it would be the perfect choice.

I leave on Thursday evening and I will be back home by Tuesday. Just a quick trip, because I don’t get much vacation time with my job. I’ve only been to London once before, back in the fall of 2003.

The Shamrock marathon really took a toll on my body. It took nearly a week for all the muscle soreness to go away, and when it did, I noticed that I also had knee pain. I didn’t run at all for the week following the marathon. The next week, my total mileage was somewhere around 25. And I haven’t run since. So, my total mileage for the 4 weeks in between marathons will amount to around 28 (I plan to run 3 tomorrow).

I’ve been to a physical therapist, a sports massage therapist, a sports med doctor, and an orthopedic doctor. And all of their diagnoses conflict. The shin pain that I was feeling prior to Shamrock has suddenly come back, after a week of no running, and I have no clue what could be causing it. It’s not a stress fracture. There is a small chance it could be compartment syndrome, but the test for that is pretty extensive. I don’t know if my knee problems are related to that or not. It could be IT Band syndrome, or something else.

After all of this, I think I will be okay in London. The pain in my knee seems to have gotten better, although I haven’t run on it in over a week. My shin pain is still present, but I managed to run through that at Shamrock.

Considering that my level of fitness has decreased with such low mileage, and that I am recovering from an injury, I don’t expect a fast time at this marathon. I have just one goal: to not make my injuries worse. I realize I will probably aggravate them, but If I have to change my gait or something, then I’m walking the rest of the way, or even stopping the race completely and taking the tube back to my hotel. 

That being said, I really would like to finish the race, just so I can say "I ran an international marathon". If this were any other race, I would simply drop out. But I’ve made too much of an investment to do that. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If all goes well, I do have a goal time. Goal times are fun, and they give me a pace to stick to. If I do have ITB issues, running fast is actually better than running slow, anyway. My goal time is 4:13:08. The date of the race. I think it would be a cool "souvenir". This would require an average pace of 9:39. This pace is very comfortable for me, so it will simply be a matter of how my shin/knee feels. The race starts at 9:45am, London time. My race number is 54646.

It's Just Temporary!

I ran the Shamrock Marathon yesterday morning in Virginia Beach.

The Start Line
I was optimistic as I approached the starting area. The winds didn’t seem to be as heavy as forecasted. I was expecting constant winds of 20 mph, but it was more of an occasional breeze, at least at the start line. It also wasn’t as cold as I had expected.

As I was walking around the start area, a photographer asked to interview me for his TV newscast. He asked me about my marathon experience, and my expectations for this race. I basically said that there were a lot of unknowns due to the wind, but that I was prepared and ready.

Miles 1-6
I started the marathon at a pace that felt relaxed and comfortable. Starting at mile 2, my shin began to hurt. I tried not to panic. I tried to ignore it. I was not about to let this muscle strain affect my running. I held steady. At around mile 3, I realized I was running around the 3:50 pace group. I was running a bit faster than them, though, and passed them after about half a mile. I wasn’t going for a sub-3:50, but I figured I would try to stay ahead of them for as long as possible, in case there was any shot of a 3:49. By mile 4, my shin stopped hurting. Or, I stopped noticing it. There was a timing mat at mile six, and my split was 52:46, for an average pace of 8:48 for the first six miles.
Mile 1: 8:41
Mile 2: 8:41
Mile 3: 8:52
Mile 4: 8:38
Mile 5: 8:44
Mile 6: 9:11

Miles 7-13
I started to feel really good, and I started to have hope that maybe I would run a good race and PR. A stretch goal was sub-3:50, because the 3:50 pace group still had not passed me by mile 13. There was a two-mile stretch on the boardwalk where the wind was just awful. There were headwinds at probably 15-25 mph (my estimate) and I tried drafting off of other runners. It helped, but then the person would either speed up, or I would want to go faster than the person I was drafting off of. I reached the half marathon marker in 1:54:50, averaging a pace of 8:46 for these miles.

Mile 7: 8:34 (fastest mile)
Mile 8: 8:40
Mile 9: 8:43
Mile 10: 8:51
Mile 11: 8:39 (I toughed it out through the wind!)
Mile 12: 8:54
Mile 13: 8:41

Miles 14-20Just before mile 14, the crowd thickened. I found it hard to maintain a pace because the course had gotten really thin, with only room for 4 people across. I realized that it thickened because the 3:50 pace group had caught up with me, and it was a large group. The winds were still heavy from mile 13-17, so I used this to my advantage to draft off of these runners. The problem with running in such a tight pack was the water stations and being able to get water when I needed it. I hit the mile 18 timing mat at 2:37:42, for an average pace of 8:46. Things started to hurt at mile 16, and I started to worry a little. Usually in a marathon, nothing bothers me that much until mile 20 or even mile 21. I wondered how I would make it 10 more miles, but I quickly stopped that line of thinking. It’s much easier to take the race mile by mile. Just focus on getting to the next mile marker.

The 3:50 pace leader was amazing. He kept encouraging me and helping me along the way. He was entertaining and got my mind off the race.

Mile 14: 8:39
Mile 15: 8:42
Mile 16: 8:43
Mile 17: 8:36 (not sure how I pulled that off!)
Mile 18: 8:51
Mile 19: 8:44
Mile 20: 8:56

Miles 21-26
I reached the 20 mile marker in 2:55. This was about 5 minutes faster than Richmond. I told myself that if I stayed on pace, I could get a 5 minute PR or even better. I started to fade. As I approached mile 21, the 3:50 pace group started to get ahead of me. I could still see the 3:50 flag in the distance, but I was no longer with the pack, and I was running alone.
I came up with two new mind games on the spot. The first one was to visualize the mile marker pulling me toward it. I thought "the mile marker wants to get me. The mile marker needs me! I have to get to it! It’s tugging at me!" And that really helped as I convinced myself not to stop running in my pursuit of marker 23, 24, and 25.

It was tough. I had to dig really, really deep. Another thing that I started telling myself was that this pain was temporary. It wouldn’t last long. The race glory would last forever, but this pain and this situation was very, very temporary. And if I stopped, it would only prolong it. So, I just kept repeating to myself over and over "temporary. temporary. temporary." And it really helped! I persevered. I allowed myself to slow down a little bit, but I would not let myself walk. At this point, it was mainly just a mental struggle of stopping versus continuing. My legs were killing me!

Mile 21: 8:53
Mile 22: 9:02
Mile 23: 8:52
Mile 24: 9:03
Mile 25: 9:34 (slowest mile)
Mile 26: 9:21

The last 0.2This was the best part of the race. This is where I surprised myself and became my strongest racer. Maybe ever. I looked down at my watch as I passed the mile 26 marker and looked ahead at the finish. I told myself if I picked up the pace, I could sneak in under 3:52. I said "Your job, is to get to that finish line before your watch reads 3:52. Go for it now!"

My eyes were on the Finish Line arch. I kept my running form strong. I told myself that I really, really wanted a 3:51 and not a 3:52. And I did it!

I finished the race in 3:51:49. A Personal Record by 4:52 off of my Richmond time in November. This is an average pace of 8:51.

First half: 1:54:50Second half: 1:56:59
I placed 632 out of 2319 total finishers
I placed 148 out of 886 women
I placed 31 out of 211 women ages 25-29

After crossing the finish line, I received my medal and finisher’s hat. I waited for Brent, who came in about 7 minutes later.


Out of all of the races I have ever run in my life, I would have to say that my final sprint for the last 0.2 was the toughest effort I have ever put out. I was in so much pain, and I didn’t think I could go any further, but I told myself that I had to get in under 3:52, and I did so comfortably.

I have now set a personal record in each of my six marathons. The next marathon I am running is only four weeks away-- the London Marathon! I will probably not try for a PR there because I won’t be fully recovered from this race, and there are 50,000+ runners, making it hard to run at your own pace. So, I expect that my PR streak ends here. However, I do plan on qualifying for Boston in the fall, which would require a 3:40.

The Best Training Advice: Don't Train!

As many of you know, I was very torn on my decision to drop my Houston Marathon registration down to the half marathon. But because I was injured for three solid weeks and only ran once during that time, I thought that I wouldn't be prepared to run a full marathon on January 13. I decided to run the half marathon instead, because I already had my plane ticket to Houston, I was excited to see my friends Randi and Susannah, and I wanted the experience of such a large, well-known race.

Susannah picked me up at the airport on Saturday morning. On the plane, I met a wonderful woman named Valerie, who lives in DC and was running the marathon. This would be her 15th, and she was trying to beat her 3:28 PR. I was very impressed with her, and I was inspired because she said she had been running marathons for five years before she qualified for Boston. When Susannah and I got to the expo, we met up with our friend Randi. Susannah wouldn't be running, but Randi was going for her second marathon, with her first being Chicago. (I was supposed to run Chicago with her last year, but I was injured.)

Susannah, Randi and me

We also met up with Michael Hayden. It was great to see him! Mike has been at my past 4 races, so it's not a race without him there! I slept well that night. Very well. I typically sleep horribly the night before a race, especially if I am not in my own bed. But I wasn't nervous or anxious or anything. I didn't have a time goal, and I wasn't expecting to be anywhere close to my PR. I was just looking forward to a fun day.

Before the Race
I woke up early, as usual, and got dressed for the race. They were forecasting for the upper 40's, which means long sleeves, but once we got to the race, it felt like it was in the lower 50's, which meant a tank top and gloves. I did get a little hot during the race, so that ended up being a good choice. Mike Hayden found me among all the people and we proceeded to walk to the half marathon start, and Randi walked to her marathon start. I stopped to go to a porta-potty, but I didn't lock the door. Typically, the lines are so long, that everyone assumes the porta potties are full until someone comes out. So, of course, this guy opened the door on me as I was doing my business! I screamed, and he apologized. But it was really my fault. And it was pitch black in there at 6:45am.

Mike and I tried to get close to the front of corral, but we were later than most people, and we didn't get up very far. I was worried about having to weave through a lot of people. There were two waves, and we were in the first wave. But inside the wave, there was no corralling so that the faster runners would be in the front. Once again, this didn't bother me too much because I wasn't trying to get a PR, or even a specific time goal. I just wanted to do my best, and see what would happen.

Miles 1-4
The first few miles were really rough. I felt like I was walking through some of mile 1. The crowd was so tight. I didn't want to waste energy weaving through people, but I had no choice. I had to pass the slower runners if I wanted to maintain a good pace. I missed mile marker two. Some time after the third mile marker, I noticed my watch stopped.

Mile 1: 9:22
Mile 2: Unknown
Mile 3: Unknown
Mile 4: Unknown

Miles 5-8
Typically, having my watch stop like that in the middle of the race would have really upset me and discouraged me. I NEED to know my time! Or so I thought. But I only panicked for a moment, because I wasn't even going for a time goal. In fact, I thought it would be kind of neat to run a race "blindly". I decided that from then on, I would track my mile splits, but I wouldn't know what my actual time for the race was.

At about mile 5, I caught up with the 3:45 marathon pace team. I decided I would try to keep them in sight because that was approximately my half-marathon PR pace. I wasn't expecting to maintain it, but I was going to try as long as possible. And it felt good at that pace! This course was very boring. Not scenic at all. Some buildings. Some stores. Some residential areas. Really nothing exciting at all.

And surprisingly, the course was not flat. The course advertises itself as being almost entirely flat, so I didn't expect any hills. And there were some! The New Jersey marathon is a flat race. The Delaware marathon is a flat race. Houston, in comparison to those, is not flat! Richmond was hilly, but I was mentally prepared for the hills and I knew where they all were. Every time I had even the slightly incline in Houston, I got frustrated. It was supposed to be flat!!! I was able to track my splits on my watch:

Mile 5: Unknown
Mile 6: 8:10
Mile 7: 8:21
Mile 8: 8:22

Miles 9-13.1 
By mile 9, my left foot started to hurt--right under my big toe. This was where my physical therapist said my leg problems were stemming from. My foot had been out of alignment. Aside from that,
though, the rest of my leg felt great. I was really enjoying the race and the pace was easy.

In fact, I was surprised at my watch splits. I couldn't believe I was averaging around 8:20-8:25 for my splits. My PR pace was 8:37, so starting at mile 9, I realized that there was a chance I could actually PR! I had no concept of the pace of the first few miles, but it seemed like I was going the same pace throughout.

At mile 9, I saw Michael Hayden in front of me. He was injured, so he was running this race for fun and not for time. He had said in the beginning that he was going to go out at an easy pace (for him) and then see what happened. He looked like he was hurting, so I stayed back and ran about 15 feet behind him until around mile 10.5. We ran side-by-side for about half a mile, and I enjoyed the comraderie.

And then he started to pick up the pace just before mile marker 12. My pace started to feel tiresome at mile marker 11. But I needed to maintain it for two more miles in order to secure my PR. So, I repeated in my head, over and over: "Houston is my PR, Houston is my PR". (There is an advertisement in Runner's World that says this- promoting the race as being fast and flat). I kept repeating it over and over until the finish line was in sight. It really worked!

For the first time, I was not super into my iPod. I did have it turned on, and I was listening. But I was really not using the music to my advantage. It was more background noise as I coasted through the streets. It actually felt easy. And so good to run-- after three weeks off!

Mile 9: 8:23
Mile 10: 8:31
Mile 11: 8:27
Mile 12: 8:30
Mile 13: 8:23

Finish time: 1:50:43, a PR by 2:00.
Average pace of 8:27

I placed 976 out of 8303 total finishers.
I placed 262 out of 4902 women.
I placed 67 out of 791 in my age group.
I placed 1 out of 42 Elizabeths!!!!!!!! I love it when I win my name!

After the Race
After the race, I got a finisher's t-shirt (yes, you get two shirts in the race, and the finisher shirt is from Under Armor). The post-race food was excellent for such a larger race. The Marine Corps Marathon has really horrible food. They offered bagels in a variety of flavors, bananas, muffins, breads, sausage, eggs, muffins, hash browns, yogurt, juices. Yum!

I re-united with Michael Hayden, who finished a little bit ahead of me. I met back up with Susannah, and then we went to watch for Randi to finish the full. Last spring, Randi and I ran in New Jersey together. I did the full marathon and she had run the half. After completing the half, she came back to cheer for me, so I was glad to return the favor. She finished in 4:18! Great job on her second marathon!

Lessons Learned
I think the biggest lesson I learned was to relax more during races. I didn't have my watch keeping track of the elapsed time, and I didn't freak out about it. I didn't have a goal time in mind. I just went into the race with an attitude of doing my best and enjoying it, and it really worked for me. I took three whole weeks off from running (with the exception of a 4.5 mile treadmill run one day) and I still PRed by two full minutes. This goes to show you that sometimes rest really is in order. And that it won't kill you to take some time off. I also learned that my iPod is really not my savior. Yes, it motivates me, and yes I will continue to use it. But for this particular race, it was more of an accessory than a critical part of the race experience. I'm not sure why, but I just wasn't that "in tune" with the music.

Thank you for everyone who tracked me and texted me to wish me good luck and/or congratulations. I was really shocked by this race, and now I am uncertain as to the best approach for the next one!

2007 Recap

2007 was a good year for me running-wise. Since I started racing in 2005, I know that my "gains" will be less significant as time goes by, so having another year like 2007, with major PRs at every distance, will be unlikely. While there are still many good things to come in my running career (or so I hope) I'd like to take a moment to reflect back on 2007.

Races & Places
The furthest I traveled for a race this year was the Miami Marathon in January. Other interesting locations were the NYC half marathon, the Philadelphia Distance run, and the New Jersey Marathon. I got a nice view of my home city during the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, and a crappy view of the same city during the National Half Marathon.

Marathon Mania
ING Miami Marathon, January 13, 4:13
New Jersey Marathon, April 29, 4:05
Richmond Marathon, November 10, 3:56

Training Miles The year is not over yet, but I have currently run 1580 miles this year. If I can do some short runs through my injury, I think I will run at least 1,600 for the year. It's a little bit less than I had hoped for, but still good enough to help me meet my goals. In the first half of the year, most of my training runs were done at a relatively fast past. I almost always ran a "tempo" run, and my long runs were done at marathon goal pace. About halfway through the year, I decided to follow the "Veteran's" program in Runner's World, which had me run most of my miles a lot slower. It clearly worked for the Richmond marathon, but it wasn't easy to hold back so much in training.

I logged the most miles in October (168) and the fewest miles in August (72).

Injuries Even though I have been running since 2001, this was my first year with injuries. It all started in July with two Morton's Neuromas in my left foot. Other injuries have included: - Plica Syndrome in my right knee - Bone Spur in my right foot - Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot - IT Band Syndrome in left leg - Pes anserine Bursitis in right leg I have overcome all of these except for the IT Band Syndrome (which I am still not certain I have-- but that could just be denial), and the bone spur, where the pain comes and goes randomly. I guess I must really love running to keep doing it after all this!

Bad Racing Experiences
In 2006, the VA Beach half marathon won the prize for the worst race. This year, I would have to give that award to the Marine Corps Marathon 10K. Complete Flop. You remember the blog. It was a mixture of external factors and then my own mindset that made me fail. Second prize would have to go to the Cure Autism Now 5K on July 4. Even though this 5K time was better than the Turkey Trot, the July 4 race was much more of a letdown. I fully expected a PR and didn't anticipate any of those hills.

Awards
I won three awards this year: - June 3: 1st place in my age group (second overall) in a 5K - June 23: 2nd place in my age group in a 4-mile race - December 1: 1st place in my age group for a half marathon

PRs I set a PR at every distance this year, and I ran 3 new distances: The 4-mile, the 8K, and the 20-mile.

5K	23:30	7:35	6/3/07	Herndon, VA
5 Mile	38:41	7:44	3/10/07	Ashburn, VA
10K	49:23	7:57	12/9/07	Washington, DC
10 Mile	1:21:23	8:08	4/1/07	Washington, DC
1/2 Marathon	1:52:43	8:37	9/16/07	Philadelphia, PA
20 Mile	3:01:20	9:04	9/30/07	Alexandria, VA
Marathon	3:56:40	9:01	11/10/07	Richmond, VA

Running Buddies
Jenny and I ran most of our races together until she got injured. After the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April, she found out that she had 4 stress fractures and has not been able to run ever since. I miss her and hope to run more with her in 2008. I really enjoyed the NJ Marathon with Kimberly and Randi, while having Jenny and Jenna come out to cheer us on. I also enjoyed the Philly Distance Run with a bunch of Big Cats, including Abby, Brent, Kevin, Michael H., Matt, and Bob.

Power Songs
1. Fall Out Boy- Fame < Infamy (The whole CD, actually!)
2. Foo Fighters- The Pretender
3. Jimmy Eat World- Let It Happen
4. Finger Eleven- Paralyzer
5. Anberlin- Reclusion

2007 Races
January- Miami Marathon: 4:13:54
March- Van Metre 5.2 mile Race: 40:17
March- National Half Marathon: 1:54:18
April- Cherry Blossom 10-Miler: 1:21:23
April- New Jersey Marathon: 4:05:44
May- Capitol Hill 10K: 49:55
June- Herndon 5K: 23:30
 June- Lawyer's 10K: 50:59 J
une- Ashburn 4-miler: 30:18
July- Cure Autism 5K: 24:07
August- NYC Half marathon: Dropped out, Injured
September- VA Beach Half marathon: Dropped out, Injured
September- Philadelphia Distance Run: 1:52:43
September- National Captial 20-Miler: 3:01:20
October- Chicago Marathon: Dropped out, Injured
October- MCM 10K: Too awful to mention
November- Richmond Marathon: 3:56:14
November- Turkey Trot 5K: 24:19
December- Seaside Half Marathon: 1:53:22
December- Jingle All The Way 10K: 49:23

2008 Goals
I am not sure if I will write a separate blog about this or not. My main goals are to keep setting PRs, avoid injuries, see new places, and have fun!

The Glass is Half Full, Not Fully Empty

It's times like these that truly challenge me to think about the type of runner I am: Why do I run? What am I hoping to accomplish? What does my running say about me as a person?

I'm faced with this mysterious injury that was diagnosed as IT Band Syndrome, but I think it's some other sort of knee injury. It's my left knee, and my upper calf/outer shin is somehow also involved. Whatever it is, it forced me to cut back my mileage last week, including reducing a 17-miler down to 7.5 miles. I have not run since Saturday, and the chances of me completing a 20-mile training run this coming Saturday are slim to none.

It's not so much painful as it is awkward, and I can tell that something is strained or pulled or out of alignment. (They are draining my pool this week, so swimming is not even an option. . . but that rant is for another blog!)

So what to do about the Houston Marathon on January 13? Unfortunately, the race's deadline for switching to the half marathon is tomorrow-- over three weeks prior to the actual race. I would think that they would at least give us until Monday because then we could make a decision based on our last long run. When I ran the Miami marathon, you could actually decide to switch to the half during the race, and you could be scored as a half-marathon finisher, complete with a half marathon medal. With Houston, not only must you make up your mind so far in advance, but you are also charged a fee of $10 to switch, even if you are downgrading. So, switching to the half means paying the price of the full marathon, plus an additional $10.

But once again, I digress. . . The bottom line is that I had to make a decision before tomorrow's deadline. And this decision made me think about my core beliefs and goals as a runner. The likelihood of me setting a PR at Houston would be very low. Considering my only long run between Richmond and Houston would have been a half marathon on December 1, a PR would definitely be a stretch. So how important is a PR to me? Is it worth putting out all the effort to run a full marathon if I know, in advance, that I have almost no chance of attaining that goal? Would I be happy if I revised my goal? How much of marathoning is about setting and attaining goals, and how much is about the experience and the fun? Or knocking another state off my list so I can be one step closer to 50 marathons in 50 states?

I was faced with a similar decision for Chicago. I really wanted my next marathon to be sub 4:00, and I knew that I had missed so much training that it wouldn't be possible in Chicago-- well before anyone knew about the heat wave. I decided not to run Chicago because I didn't want to "half-ass" it. I like to put 100% of myself into everything I do, and I knew that Chicago would not be my best effort. I know that my streak of PRs at marathons has to end eventually. They can't all be PRs. But when that streak ends, I don't want it to be because I ran a marathon just for the sake of it-- fully knowing that a PR wasn't realistic. I still want to be able to say that I gave it my all.

I know that many runners would disagree with me, and would be happy just to have another marathon under their belt. I think that if I ran the Houston marathon, I would struggle in the last 6-10 miles, I would not be happy with my time, and it would lower my confidence as a marathoner. I don't want to run this marathon just because I can, I want to run it because I've trained properly for it and "earned" a finish time that reflects my hard work.

Therefore, I have decided to run the Houston Half Marathon. If my knee gets better within the next week or so (which is very optimistic) then I at least have a shot of getting a PR, or at least running a solid race. And I won't have the pressure of a full marathon looming over my head for the next few weeks, when I know that I am not prepared. I am typically excited and happy about upcoming marathons, but I think this time, I would be more scared than anything. This way, I can take it easy for the next week, allow my knee some recovery time, and then ease back into training.

If I am lucky, maybe I can work in a 10 or 11 mile training run two weeks prior. Just like Chicago, the Houston marathon isn't disappearing anytime soon. If I really want to run it, I can do so at a later date. That said, I wish this race was organized like Miami, where I didn't have to pay extra to switch to a shorter race, and make that decision so far in advance. Considering that Houston bibs are selling for over $200, I could have actually made money on this, had I dropped out completely!

After a great deal of reflection, I'm confident in my decision. I plan to continue to only run "quality" marathons. Other distances can be for fun and training, but until my marathon PR streak breaks, I will only run them when I think I can put forth my best effort. (I might revise this if I am somehow injured for London- I have to run that one no matter what!) I'm still looking forward to Houston, but more because I will get to see my friends than for the actual race.

Frozen All The Way 10K

The name of the 10K I ran today was actually "Jingle All The Way" 10K, but I wasn't doing much jingling, as I opted not to wear the bells on the shoes that they gave me. The weather was about 36 degrees and misting rain. This race sets the record for the coldest race I have ever run. The windchill at the half marathon last week made that race seem colder at times, but when it wasn't windy, it wasn't that cold. And it's different when it's sunny and you're dry-- like last weekend. Today was a very dreary, cold, wet day. In spite of all this, I toughed it out in my red snowflake skirt.

Carlton and Michael Hayden came up to run the race with me this weekend. We're quite a team! Carlton was hoping to set a new personal record, and Mike wanted to run his fasted 10K of the year. My goal was to break 49 minutes. I definitely thought this was an attainable goal, given my current fitness level and my past races. However, the 10K has always been my worst distance. I am never sure how to pace myself. I can run negative splits at marathons and half marathons, and I can gun a 5K pretty well (usually) but I am still uncertain what the best 10K strategy is.

My PR for the 10K was a 49:55, which would have been a lot faster, if there hadn't been such a huge hill during the last mile. I can't ever seem to catch a break with the 10K distance. It's always too hot, too windy, too hilly, or too cold!

Mile 1
I think I went out too fast. Carlton disagrees, but a 7:35 pace was way too ambitious. I felt good during that first mile, but then slowed down shortly afterwards. I was thankful that I had warmed up because my legs were freezing and so was my face. If it hadn't been for the run from the car to the start, I would have been frozen solid!

Mile 2
There was a very slight hill here, but nothing really noticeable. Otherwise, the course was flat. And I had run most of this course during the Marine Corps Marathon. My nose was freezing. I managed to run a 7:46. Perfect! This was the pace I was hoping to maintain for the rest of the race.

Mile 3
During mile 3, I saw Carlton on his way back toward the finish line. I was really surprised to see him, because I fully expected Michael Hayden to be ahead of him. I was excited for Carlton, but wondering what happened to Mike. I saw Mike shortly after, and he was very focused. I felt like I was maintaing my pace, but I actually slowed down to a 8:00 pace for this mile.

Mile 4
I passed the 5K mat at 24:24. However, when I looked at my watch, I misread it to say 24:12, which was

faster than my Turkey Trot 5K! I was psyched! After that, I think I got over-confident and felt like I didn't have to run as hard to do well. I slowed down again to yield a 8:07.

Mile 5
I was uncomfortably cold and I was struggling to maintain pace. People started to pass me. I was getting sick of the race at this point and I just wanted it to be over. I just wanted to maintain my pace and "survive" here. Pace for this mile was 8:08. I started to get mad at myself for slowing down so much. I really wanted to break an 8:00 average pace. I needed to gun the last mile.

Mile 6
Carlton came back to run with me at about mile 5.7. He told me to run faster and I screamed that I couldn't. Carlton was running ahead of me and I tried hard to catch up with him. He kept telling me to run faster and push harder, so I sped up at the end of the mile to get a 8:03. The first part of the mile must have been really slow!

The last 0.2
I decided to really give it my all at this point and makeup for my slower running earlier in the race. I felt like I was sprinting, but according to my watch, I was only going at a pace of 8:25.

Looking back on this race, I really wish I would have pushed harder. I pushed as hard as I could while Carlton was there, but I think I lost a lot of motivation and enthusiasm once I saw how much time I "banked".

My finish time was 49:23, an average pace of 7:57.

I placed 25 of 357 in my age group.
I placed 124 of 1291 women

I feel lukewarm about this. I was happy to PR, but I thought that my 10K PR was really not reflective of my running abilities at all. According to most running calculators, I should be able to come in well under 49 minutes. Baby steps, right? I don't know when my next 10K will be, but it might not be until June, when I run the Lawyer's Have Heart 10K.

Too Hot to Trot

Okay, so not really too hot, but it was a lot warmer than expected. And it made a cute title.

Today I ran a Turkey Trot 5K. It was 60 degrees, with 75% humidly and some winds. I ran this same course last year, and it was in the low 30's with misting rain. Last year, I wore three layers on top, pants, two pairs of gloves and a hat. This year, I wore just my running skirt and a tank top. 

A year ago, I would have LOVED this weather. But as other runners have told me, I would learn to appreciate colder temperatures because they make you run faster. However, I don't blame the weather for my poor performance today. I blame the fact that I am still recovering (cardio-wise) from my marathon. I didn't expect a PR, but I also didn't expect to be this slow.

I'll cut to the chase. I ran my slowest 5K ever. Here is a history of my 5Ks:

• 24:17 in September 2006
• 23:32 in November 2006 (same course I just ran)
• 23:30 in June 2007 (first place in age group!)
• 24:07 in July 2007 (lots of hills here)
• 24:19 in November 2007

I got faster the first few times, and then I started to get slower. I am not sweating this too much because I know that my body is still recovering from the marathon and I know that I did give 100% of myself today. It's not like in the MCM 10K where I just gave up halfway through. I pushed as hard as I could all the way to the end, but my body simply couldn't go any faster.

I came across the first mile marker at 7:27. I knew I was in trouble because I felt like I had just run a7:15. I knew there was no way I would be able to keep this pace up, but I decided I was going to try my hardest. There was a big hill in mile 2. I'm much better at hills now than I was last year, but it still took a lot out of me. I passed mile 2 at a pace of 8:07. I was a bit disheartened by this, but I didn't let it affect me.

I knew that a PR was probably not possible, but I still planned to give the race my all. I felt this huge knot in my chest. I feel this pain whenever I run fast. I felt it at the beginning of the MCM 10K, and at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. It's this sharp pain, but I always tell myself that it's not a big deal-- I can run through it. So, I had this knot the entire time. I just didn't feel good.

When I was getting close to the finish line, I ran as fast as I could to try to get in under 24 minutes, but the finish line was simply not close enough! I ended up running my slowest 5K ever, but I did push as hard as I could, so I am not disappointed with myself. I know I am in better shape now than I was last year at the time. However, I am better trained for longer distances, and not the short ones.

I placed 102 out of 1257 women

I placed 14 out of 185 in my age group.

I'm okay with this-- but I can't help but figure out how I would have placed if I ran the 23:32 from last year. I had planned on going to the gym afterwards and running some additional miles, but I wasn't in the mood. I did about a 1.5 mile warmup and a good stretch beforehand. I'm already satisfied with my 5K PR so I didn't have a huge desire to set one. However, I am not at all happy with my 10K PR, so I need to change that on December 9. Time to go enjoy Thanksgiving.

Breaking the 4-Hour Barrier

I am member of the sub-4:00 marathon club.

On Saturday morning, I ran the Suntrust Richmond Marathon. The race was celebrating its 30th anniversary, having started in 1978-- the year I was born. It would have been cool if the first marathon was on my birthday, but they actually used to have it in October.

Before the Race

I had a major snafu happen at work that I was trying to control regarding the web site. It's still not fixed. This left me stressed for the entire day, and I tried not to stress over it. I was still trying to resolve the issue in my

hotel that evening, calling my Web team, my boss, and our IT person. I'm still stressed about this, but there is nothing I can do other than to urge my IT person to work with my Web team to fix it.

I slept surprisingly well that night, woke up early the next morning (as usual) and prepared for the race. I was so gidddy! I excitedly ate a pumpkin-flavored stalker bagel. I had a close eye on the local weather station, praying for no rain.

I knew it was going to be cold, so I bundled up well. On top of this outfit, I had a hoodie, and then a heavy ski vest. I wore two pairs of gloves. I also used hand warmers in between the gloves.

These worked really well. In fact, they were still warm at the end of the race. You simply open the packet, shake them a little, and they provide constant heat. If it weren't for those hand warmers, I know I would have had numb hands the entire time. Additionally, I put heat warming insoles inside my shoes. I knew I couldn't run in them, so I wore them to the start line, and removed them about 5 minutes prior to race start. They were amazing! When I took them out, my feet immediately started to go numb, but I bounced around as much as possible to prevent that. Both the hand warmers and the foot warmers were a lifesaver, so I recommend them to anyone who runs or races in very cold weather.

The Start Line

Brent and I made our way over to the start line. I didn't want to start with him, because he goes out much faster than I do. We were anticipating finishing around the same time, but his strategy was to go out at an 8:00-8:30 pace and then do some walking in the last 6 miles. Whereas I wanted to keep a steady 9:00 pace the entire time. So Brent walked up closer to the start and I stayed behind. I was praying that the race would start on time, because I had already gotten rid of my foot warmers, and every minute without them, just standing there was torture. It was in the upper 30's and cloudy.

Miles 1-5

After only half a mile, I threw off my hoodie. I didn't think I would warm up so quickly! I didn't see a mile marker at mile 1. But, having learned from the MCM 10K, I could not let a missing mile marker phase me. I just kept on going, hoping to see a mile marker 2. Brent later said that he saw this mile marker, so I don't know how I missed it. It was unfortunate because I never know quite how fast I am going when I first start. I need to know my starting pace and then speed up or slow down from there to hit my target. I hit the Mile 2 marker at 18:11, so I knew I was good. I figured I should speed it up a little, because I wanted to bank some time in the beginning- before the hills started. Fortunately, I saw every other mile marker on the course. I decided that I would eat 4 packs of sports beans in this race instead of my usual 3. So, I ate my first pack at mile 4.

Mile 1: 9:06

Mile 2: 9:05

Mile 3: 9:08

Mile 4: 8:44

Mile 5: 8:44

Power Songs: Lifehouse-- "First Time, Seether-- "Fake It", Foo Fighters-- "Long Road to Ruin"

Miles 6-10

This was the best part of the course by far. When I reached mile 7, I knew that the entire thing would be

downhill. It was fantastic! I held myself back a little bit so as not to tear up my quads too much. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I was so pumped! There was a "party zone" there with tons of people, music, and I felt like such a rock star. After the party zone, the course went by the James river. It was extremely scenic here. It was woodsy and peaceful. I love looking at water when I run. I ate another pack of sports beans at Mile 10. My hands were still holding up pretty well with the two pairs of gloves and the hand warmers.

The downhill hurt my left foot. This is not the bone spur, or the neuromas. Both of those injuries were fine! But my shoe digs into the muscle of my left foot a bit and it hurts. I was so temped to stop and re-adjust, but I didn't. And the pain passed after a mile or so.

Mile 6: 8:52

Mile 7: 8:38

Mile 8: 8:46

Mile 9: 9:01

Mile 10: 8:57

Power Songs: Jason Mraz-- "Unfold", Jimmy Eat World-- "Here it Goes", Fall Out Boy-- "Bang the Doldrums"

Miles 11-15

I knew I had banked so major time, so I was prepared to get some slower mileage here. One of the course's nastiest hills is Mile 11. I decided that I wouldn't exert any extra effort to get up the hill. I would keep my effort level constant, and just go a little slower. I knew I could afford it. I was really happy that I finished the mile in 9:15. It was slower than my target pace, but not that much slower, considering how big of a hill it was. I took my hat off at the halfway point because I was actually getting a little warm. I tucked it into my pants because I like that hat and didn't want to throw it away.

My halfway goal was 1:57, and I was so excited to cross the halfway mat at 1:56:55. I was excited that I could be so exact about meeting there- only 5 seconds faster than expected! This was extremely motivating for me. I told myself that all I needed to do was to run a 2:00 half marathon and I would be golden! During marathons, I tend to get really pumped right before and after the halfway mark. I'm far enough into the race to be comfortable with pushing the pace, but not so far into it that I am hurting and exhausted.

Mile 11: 9:15

Mile 12: 8:54

Mile 13: 8:43

Mile 14: 8:35 Fastest Mile of the Race

Mile 15: 8:50

Power Songs: Jimmy Eat World-- "Feeling Lucky", Fall Out Boy, "Don't You Know Who I think I am?", Maroon 5-- "Kiwi"

Miles 16-20

I had my third pack of beans at mile 16. This was the hardest part of the course. Miles 16 and 17 were mainly uphill. It wasn't very steep, but it was long. We crossed a bridge where the winds were strong. There was no crowd support. To get through this part of the race, I just looked at the river on my left and the Richmond skyline on my right. Tori Amos' "Bouncing Off Clouds" was playing, so I looked up at the sky to distract myself from the uphill.

There was a party zone at mile 18, and the crowd support was very much appreciated. At mile 19.5, there was a very steep, nasty uphill. This was probably the steepest incline of the entire race. Not really happy to have that at mile 19.5. I had been warned about it, so I was prepared. I wanted to cross the 20-mile timing mat at 3:00. I was very happy to be there at 2:59. This is faster than my 20-mile race! I was also excited because I knew that the major hills were done with.

Mile 16: 9:33

Mile 17: 9:09

Mile 18: 9:04

Mile 19: 8:51

Mile 20: 9:09

Power Songs: Tori Amos-- "Bouncing Off Clouds", Fuel-- "Not This Time", Jimmy Eat World-- "Let It Happen"

Miles 21-25

After passing the 20-mile marker, I told myself that I just had to run a 10K in under an hour to get my sub-

4:00. Easy, right? I had plenty of energy and I wasn't tired. However, my legs really started to hurt me at mile 21, after all those hills. I just kept telling myself that my legs were going to hurt if I ran or walked, so I might as well run. These miles were hard. The hills were gently rolling, but my legs hurt so much. I just thought back to the Miami marathon where these miles were such a breeze. I also thought about New Jersey and what I did to get through those. They say a marathon really begins at mile 20! I told myself that it was okay to slow down a little bit (I had so much time in the bank), but not okay to stop or walk. I was still strong!

At about mile 22, I ran into my former co-worker and that gave me a burst of energy. We chatted for a bit and then I proceeded on. He was actually there just coaching people and not running for himself. Josh "Flash" Gordon had told me that Richmond was like a 25-mile marathon followed by a big downhill. I pushed so hard to get myself to mile marker 25, and then I knew it would get easier.

Mile 21: 9:05

Mile 22: 9:10

Mile 23: 9:00

Mile 24: 9:12

Mile 25: 9:46 Slowest mile of the race

Power Songs: Finger Eleven-- "Paralyzer", Fall Out Boy-- "Fame Infamy"

Mile 26 and 0.2

It wasn't one big downhill, as I expected. Rather, it was a downhill followed by flatness, then another downhill, followed by flatness, etc. I was so excited by this point, but my legs were killing me. There was no crowd support until about mile 25.5, which surprised me. The last time I looked at my watch was at mile 25.5, and then I decided to just really focus on moving forward and stop looking at my watch. I knew I was on target for a 3:57. When the finish line was in sight, I was so happy! I gunned it across the finish line, and stopped my watch shortly after to discover that I actually got a 3:56!

Mile 26: 9:27

Mile 0.2: 1:47 (8:20 pace)

Power Song: Incubus-- "Light Grenades"

After the Race

Brent greeted me at the finish line. He had finished in 3:53-- a PR for him by 6 minutes! I had this inner chill and my teeth were chattering like crazy. We finally found Michael Hayden (3:01) and walked back to the car. I was soooooo cold! On the way, we passed a Funnel cake stand. I was ecstatic. I told the funnel cake vendor that he was an angel sent from God above. OMG- this funnel cake was amazing. So warm, so fresh, so tasty. I warmed up almost instantly. 

Stats:

First half marathon: 1:56:55

Second half: 1:59:46

Finish time: 3:56:41 - average pace of 9:01

This was completely in line with my race strategy! I finished 86 out of 296 in my age group.I finished 366 out of 1470 women I shaved 9:02 off of my Personal Record, set in April 2007, from 4:05:43.I shaved about 50:00 off of my first marathon in May 2006, from 4:46:28.

Thank you very much to all of you who supported me throughout training and during my race. It means so much to me, and it really motivated me yesterday. Next up: Houston!